Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Like it says sorry no post for yesterday. We were supposed to get the internet set up yesterday but found out that the lines for phone,cable and internet going to our house haven't been used in several years and have been knocked down by trees so they have to run new lines from the street, which is a bit away, to our house so that we can have all of that. It is supposed to be up next tuesday when they have 3 people in the shop to come and run lines throught the trees to our house. Until then I am still stuck without the internet! I'm dying here without it though! I feel so out of touch since I really haven't read any of your blogs since the beginning of August its going to take me a few days at least to get caught up!

Anyway things otherwise are going well and I am still loving our house in the trees on the beach. The kids are going a little crazy though without having any electronic entertainment but its actually kind of good for them. Also they start school for the 3 younger ones next tuesday and that will be good for them.

I have already met a couple of people doing homeschooling here and they are helping me get some ideas for Izzak, actually that is where I am posting from today.

So the pictures will have to wait a couple of more days but soon....I promise! They will be well worth the wait.....

Saturday, August 25, 2007

So I am just poping in today from the hubbys work to let you all know we made it safe and sound! I was feeling much better by the time we left which was great. The ferry ride was great for me I loved the views and have tons of pictures to share with you all. I love our house it is about the same size as our old one but more open and best of all the view out our back porch is to die for! Like I said I have a ton of pictures to share. We will have our internet turned on at the house on Monday and I can share the pictures with your although I may have to break it up into a few posts to get them all. Also Monday is our 13th anniversary! I'm trying to decide if I will post about that before the pictures from the ride up.

Anyway we are doing great I love the view and we are outside of town so its even better and we can't even see our neighbors from any side of our house.....I like that after living so close to people for so long in the city.

Have a great weekend and I will have a normal post on Monday!

Oh and thank you to my guest posters! I loved your posts and the comments that you all were thinking about us. I was able to read my comments but not able to comment myself. Frannie your post almost made me cry!

Friday, August 24, 2007

Hey everyone, it Amy W from A Family Story. Not sure why Terri asked me to guest blog as I normally do not have anything riveting to say, but I will try to entertain for Terri's sake.

I read what Frannie wrote yesterday about Terri moving without things like a house or job. But she just wanted to go, knowing that she sees a better life on that side of the world.

We did just the same thing a little over a year ago. We left Virginia, bought a house in North Carolina without me having a job and while still owning a house in Virginia (which we STILL own, let me know if you are interested in buying it). Luckily, a job came pretty easy for me and my husband quickly became engulfed in a real estate business with a team he had met. We didn't move to NC because a job dragged us here, or family was here. We moved here for a better life, more sanity, and a heck of a lot less traffic. And it was the best decision we have ever made.

So I wish Terri and her husband and her four kids the best of luck with their move and getting acclimated. Knowing how strong she is (and funny, and smart, I could go on), I know she is going to do just fine.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

I am such a dipstick! When Terri was looking for guests writers I jumped in there and volunteered, then what did I do...I clean forgot!!!

So when I agreed to write this post I thought of what a great adventure Terri and her family were facing and how brave they were. It reminded me of the time I moved from the UK to Ireland. Dillon was 18 months old when we moved and as much as I was excited at the thought of owning our own house I was more than apprehensive about moving away from my family and friends. We spent a lot of time searching for a house. I didn't know Dublin at all but Joules was born and bred there so whatever house that was in our (modest) price range was met with 'I'm not living there' or 'I want to be on the dart (train) line I'm not getting a bus to work each day'. After a year of looking we were beginning to despair. I was wondering if we would ever find a house. Then one day my mother-in-law saw a small newspaper ad for a company which matched people with houses for a very nominal fee (charged to the seller). We rang them and told them our budget and the area we wanted to live in. We couldn't believe it when she gave us a house to look at in the area all the pop stars/musicians/directors/actors etc live in, how could we afford to live there.

The moment we entered the small estate I knew this was a place I could to live in. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the road was full of small children playing in the sunshine and parents chatting. The house was perfect for us and within our price range so we made an offer which the seller accepted, we later found out that others had made offers but she turned them down because she didn't warm to them, luckily for us. So the house was ours.

Two months later we moved in. My dad drove a van over from the UK full of beds, sofas, table, chairs etc etc. I spent a week unpacking boxes then mum and dad drove over with Dillon for a week. Then I was left alone. Alone with Joules and Dillon. And very alone. This was the beginning of the hardest year of my life. Those children and families we'd spotted earlier? They had all gone back to school, nursery and work and the estate was empty, so different from the bustling hive of activity we'd fallen in love with. It was over a month before I spoke to any neighbours. I was unpacking some groceries from the car when a neighbour walked by with two young children. She invited me in for coffee and introduced me to another neighbour with a young child the same age. These neighbours were very kind to me and really supported me throughout that first year and Dillon now had three playmates.

Still I was finding life hard here. Joules had his old friends from school and Dillon had plenty of friends but I still felt like I had no focus besides Dillon. I was very upset a lot of the time and angry at other times. Joules and I would argue a lot about friends, he felt he could not help me, he couldn't go and 'buy me friends' and looking back I think I was depressed. Now I love it here and would never consider moving as the children are well settled, in good schools enjoying a good life (although I would like a bigger house but have you seen the mad price of real estate here)? So what saved me? I joined a tennis club having not really played for eight years. I was out getting fresh air and exercise and meeting people who I had more in common with than having children the same age. I can't express how much I love tennis, playing it for fun, competing in competitions, the social nights... Finally I had found something for me and all was well in our world.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Hey Y'all--- this is Frannie coming to you from the great state of Georgia--- filling in for Terri as she and the family make the great transition to Alaska. Hello to my little Maddie!!!! You can come live with me if you aren't diggin' Alaska. It's warm here. You can wear shorts about 9 months out of the year! And I will let you eat all the candy you want!

ok- on to my post

guest blogging--- now that's a lot of pressure, huh? I can write whatever crap I want on my own blog, but I feel like I have to come up with something that passes as somewhat readable for this little post. I was trying to decide what to write about. So, I thought about Terri-- which made me think about Maddie. So, I then refocused and tried to think about Terri again. Of course, Maddie's little songs were singing in the background.

I thought about Terri and this move to Alaska. They are doing this on blind faith. There wasn't a job lined up. Or a house. Or family to be near. Or a promise of a winning lottery ticket. Or a cure for any illness.

Just faith. That this is where they should go. They took a leap. A leap of faith into a great unknown territory. Who knows what will happen? Will they prosper? I certainly hope, but I don't know. Will they be happy? again, I hope, as I'm sure they do. But how amazing is it that they did this? I am in awe. I can't even go to the airport by myself without having severe panic attacks. I would crawl in a corner and wet my pants if I had to move to Alaska without knowing anything about what I would do there or what was in store for me. But Terry and Kelly listened to their inner voice and took the leap.

Who knows what will happen when any of us leap? Will we falter? Or will we land securely on our feet and travel on as if the leap never happened? You can learn a lot when you land. But I think you learn the most during the few seconds that you are in the air, traveling weightless, ready for the unknown. That is where our mettle is. In the space between.

Good luck to you, Terri. I love you and hope that your feet are securely on the ground in Alaska for many years to come.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Hello everyone! I think I am Terri's first guest blogger of the week. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Emma and, like Terri, I am a mother to four lovely children. And sometimes not so lovely. We won't talk about the 2 hours of crying I listened to today and the four potty accidents. That's right FOUR and THREE of them were not just the peeing kind. Anyway, I can be found here. (Am I allowed to advertise myself like that? How about please go read me? Please, please, please!!)

I've never guest blogged before. The one time I was asked to do so, my post never actually made it onto her blog. Granted it was a pretty crappy post, so I can't blame Ice Cream Mama * at all. Terri, however, gave this week's guest bloggers an awful lot of power- her password! So even if this ends up being the most terrible post ever, it's out there, at least until she gets a hold of the internet again.

I started blogging just over 2 years ago. I was going to blog about motherhood, but my blog turned into my very own cheap brand of therapy, with a whole lot of fantastic people playing psychiatrists or just offering me a "Hey, I've been there and you will get through this." My house may be a little messier, but my sanity? That girl is intact. Mostly.

I have said before that I like my blogger friends better than the majority of my daily life friends. You are the people I tell about the troubles with my oldest daughter, who at 12 drives me absolutely mad. It is you that I sometimes tell about the fights with my partner. While I write for myself, I also write with the hope that someone will read my blog and know how I am feeling, or be sympathetic to what's been going on. Every once in a while a good kick in the ass works wonders too.

Once upon a time, I read a blog post that discussed whether or not bloggers could be considered friends. At the time, I thought "Maybe." Now, I think "Definitely!" No, I may not know most of you in person (although I was lucky enough to meet a blogger last week) and I may never have the opportunity to meet you (unless I win the lottery- then you're all invited to my new house for my very own mini blogher) but you are most definitely my friends. Surely a stranger would not send your daughter a gift for her birthday? A stranger would not send you an email telling you things she is not ready to put into her own blog. A stranger may tell you what you want to hear, but it is your friends who tell you what you need to hear.

So I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful ladies (and a few fellas!) that I have met on this journey. I really do adore you all.

And while I have the power over at Terri's, can I just say how brilliant she is? Her son Izzak and my son Liam have some of the same learning disabilities, which is what initally drew me to her. She is a fantastic advocate for her children. I admire her willingness to make such a big move, from Oregon to Alaska. I'm not so sure I could start over like that. Nah. I know I couldn't. I have waaaaay too much junk.

*I received an email from Ice Cream Mama this morning saying that she never received my guest post. So I went through my sent items and it wasn't there. Did a search for it and there it was, unfinished, in my drafts. And this, people, is proof that the more children you have the worse your memory is. All this time I thought that Ice Cream Mama hated my post, and being the insecure person I am I was quite convinced that she did not like me! I am so sorry Ice Cream Mama!

So we will be heading up to Washington to stay at a friends overnight before we get on the Ferry up to Alaska.

I am feeling a little better today. Healthwise but it has been a difficult weekend, yesterday especially.

I went to Hannahs house to visit and see her and the kids once more before we left. I cuddled with 1 year old Simon and almost cried while holding him. He will be so much bigger the next time I see him and Emily again. I cried when saying goodbye to Hannah. We are getting ready to leave and I need to do the final goodbye thing with my parents, Kellys sister and brother. I don't look forward to this part.

I will have 4 people guest blogging for me this week from Tuesday through Friday then I hope to be able to post from somewhere by Saturday at least to let you all know that we made it there in one piece! I may be another week (I'm not sure) before I can post pictures from my computer but I will be sure to do that as soon as possible. So for now I hope you all have a great week and I will stop in again on Saturday. Say hi to the guest bloggers I'm sure most of you will recognize them since most of you all read the same blogs I do.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Unfortunatly I do not have an allergy to moving or anything like that but I do have Strep Throat.......so now I am on antibiotics and hopefully I will be feeling a little closer to normal by Monday when we are supposed to be leaving.

Anyway everything in the house is done we have cleaned it and moved all of it out and the trailer is on its way to Ketchikan! Now just for us. We are staying at my parents house.

Okay so today I feel worse and my throat feels very tight and sore. I don't think its related to the move I've had it other times when nothing else was going on with the same exact symptoms. Trust me if it was allergies I'd be good with that but this is downright painful! So anyway as the title says I have an appt to see my dr today. I suppose I could say I was just looking for an excuse to see him before I leave also but that really isn't it. Even though I do love our family dr and can't imagine how we are going to replace him. We've been seeing him for 12 years and he was my dr with the last 3 of my kids! Izzak doesn't even remember seeing a different dr then him. They have always compared every dr they see for other reasons to him and they never match up to the kids expectations since him.

On another note the trailer is filled and we just need to do some last minute cleanup in the old house. We are now staying at my parents house till monday and then at that point we will stay Monday at a friend of mines place in Washington a little closer to were we get on the ferry and we will leave from there to head to Alaska!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

So the move itself is going well and we are almost completely packed only problem is I'm sick...... I got the same exact thing 1 1/2 years ago when we moved to this house. My tonsils are swollen huge. Last 2 times I got this I ended up in the emergency room because my throat swelled up so much I could barely breath and had to get stronger antibiotics and a shot of steroids. I really don't have time for that right now and we need to be working on getting the house finished.

Kelly keeps joking that I do this on purpose every time we move but of course its not that who would want to be sick when moving? Anyway I will try to post again later keep us in your thoughts and I am really hoping to get over this quick without an ER visit!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Kelly got back on Friday! He flew in and all went well. We have a large cargo trailer sitting outside our house right now though. The only problem is it sits about 5 feet in the air and we don't have anything to lift things into it except for our own brute strength....haha.....yeah right. We have a dumpster coming to the house tomorrow to throw a lot of garbage away....we have a lot and its just not garage sale or goodwill worthy and besides I just don't want to deal with that stuff right now.

We leave on the 21st to get on the ferry to Ketchikan though! I'm getting excited. Kelly did find a place for us with the help of his work its actually right on the beach in Ketchikan and they are allowing our cats and of course we get to keep Maddie, hehe. His work has been awesome though. It's a good thing he likes his job because I kind of feel a bit indebted to them at the moment.

Thank you all for you comments though and Frannie I loved your coment about taking Madison till we could get a place...that was cute and she liked it. Also the idea about dressing her up like an old lady and saying she was my grandmother just short was cute too! I love the ideas anyway. I will post a few more times and on Thursday we will be staying at my parents house for a few days till we head up for the ferry and I will let you all know when we leave. After that I will get my guest bloggers to help for a few days till we get our posting up. For right now I'm doing it since I can get to posting once in awhile and want to keep people up on what it going on. I can't wait to get online in our new home soon so that I can post pics for you all! Have a great week and I will post again by Thursday at the latest. I really miss reading all your blogs but I haven't had time when I do get a computer so maybe I will try to get a little caught up on thursday. Have a great week!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Okay so I talked to Kelly today and the good news! I've been so anxious to tell but had to know for sure but......Kelly's work is paying for everything for us to move up to Alaska. They will fly him down here on Friday or Saturday, I will know more when he calls tomorrow after they buy his tickets. Then Friday they will have a trailer dropped off at the house for us to fill and then Kelly will have 5 or 6 days here to get things ready for us to go and then we head up to just north of Seattle....can't remember the place right now, and take the ferry to Ketchikan! That is a huge load off of us because we were starting to pinch pennies here a bit trying to make sure we had enough to get there and now that is no longer a worry! I'm so excited!

I WILL BE SEEING MY HUBBY AGAIN BY THIS WEEKEND!! Aren't you all happy you won't be getting anymore of my sad posts from missing him?

Anyway I will try to post again sooner this time but like I said I am posting from different computers when I get to them. Probably when we leave which I will find out by tomorrow the exact date then it will be about a week at least and I have a few volunteers to guest blog for me then to keep you more interested...hehe.....really I am extremely excited right now and tomorrow my friend from Washington is coming down.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Its my last day at work. Woohoo! As of right now I only have 2 hours left. I keep telling myself that although there have been a couple of times like at breaks where the tought runs through my mind....."if I leave now what are they gonna do? Fire me!" hehe..... I'm a good person though and I know they need me so I will stick out my last 2 hours.

On another note. Kelly is still trying to figure out the house thing for us moving. He has called several places and they don't allow pets or small children. I get the pets but small children? Apparently Madison isn't wanted in those places. I really don't mind the pet thing I could live with finding homes for the kitties but I just don't think I can give Maddie away......she's to much work! just kidding hehe......I wouldn't know what to do without her. He has put in a call to the main branch where he works to help figure that out otherwise they will have to send him to another shop, which I'm okay with. Honestly I'm not dead set on living in Ketchikan, I'll go wherever it takes to be with my hubby again. I'd just like to get things figured out since we have to be out of our house we are in now by the 17th! Either way it will be Alaska somewhere. They have branches in Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks that I know about other then Ketchikan. Obviously if we can't get suitable housing in Ketchikan with all of our children they will have to send him to a different branch! Although right at the moment I could understand if they didn't allow 10 year old boys!

Anyway keep us in your thoughts and prayers please! I am still feeling very good about things and know it will all work out the way it is supposed to! Have a great day! 2 hours to go!!! woohoo.

About Me

Hi! My name is Terri
I am married to Kelly and have 4 kids. Izzak,17 has several learning disablities including Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and others. Don't let any of that give you the wrong idea though he is a great kid and very social. He thinks he's all grown up of course, God help us all. Joshua,15 is my preemie was born at 32 weeks he has ADHD and drives all of us crazy. He also has sleep issues.He is a great kid with lots of energy frequently he will bend over backwards to make his sisters especially happy. Currently doesn't think school is an important thing. McKenzie is our newest teenager generally has a different hair color whenever the mood strikes. Currently it's fuschia (I know I spelled it wrong but I'm being lazy). She is 13 going on 21 and has her very own sense of style. Loves skulls hot pink and black, lol. Madison is the baby of the family and now 11, she's an interesting kid let's just say that lol. She is extremely independant and opinionated. She is not shy and will say what she thinks right from the start. At the moment I am home schooling 3 of them they are in 11th, 9th, 7th and 5th grades this year. Joshua is the only one in school full time.